What to do this month...
A small deciduous tree or large shrub will light up the garden with fiery foliage
The clocks are changing and the days are getting shorter and colder but that doesn’t mean your garden should be lacking in colour or interest. A whole host of small trees and large shrubs really come into their own at this time of year as their leaves change colour.
Take inspiration from smaller specimen trees at the collections at Westonbirt and Batsford arboreta in Gloucestershire, and the Sir Harold Hiller Arboretum and Gardens in Hampshire.
Now is a great time to plant large shrubs and small trees. The weather may be getting colder, but the soil holds on to summer warmth for longer than the air, so if you plant now and mulch around your new additions with a generous layer of well-rotted organic matter, the roots will have plenty of time to establish before frost penetrates the ground.
We’ve picked some lovely trees here, but if you’re really short on space then you should consider shrubs such as Cotinus coggygria, Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ and oak-leaved Hydrangea quercifolia.
EUONYMUS PLANIPES
Shrub with blushing leaves, purple fruit and orange seeds. H: 2.5m, S: 3m.
ACER ‘SANGO-KAKU’
Fine red stems and fiery orange-tinted golden foliage. H: 6m, S: 5m.
SORBUS CASHMIRIANA
Leaves turn red and gold, with white berries showing all winter. H: 8m, S: 7m.
AMELANCHIER LAMARCKII
Bronze leaves mature green then red in autumn. H: 10m, S: 12m.
CERCIDIPHYLLUM JAPONICUM
Heart-shaped leaves turn yellow and smell of burnt sugar. H&S: 10m.
RHUS TYPHINA ‘TIGER EYES’
Compact cultivar with fiery red, orange and yellow leaves. H&S: 1.8m.
Protect plants from frost damage
Have a quick tour of the garden to check on plants that will need a bit of TLC over winter. Now’s the time to put protection in place.
● Leave tender perennials such as gaura and penstemon unpruned until spring. Long stems can help protect younger more vulnerable shoots. Mulch around the crown with compost or chipped bark.
● Protect large tender exotics such as banana plants and tree ferns by holding their leaves upright and folding them over the crown. Stuff the cavity with straw, then secure with twine and wrap the crown and leaves with thick fleece.
● Move alpines to a porch or cold frame, or cover with a cloche or perspex to shelter from winter wet.
● Store tubers and rhizomes of cannas and dahlias in trays of damp compost in a cool but frost-free place (see p39). Check them monthly. If the compost is too dry, sprinkle with water to keep it just damp enough.
